We’re just about ready to start our alpha testing phase! We’ll be sending invites to a handful of people early next week, collecting feedback, and going full force to incorporate the enhancements that our early users demand most, as fast as we can. Rolling out to real users next week means MIXTT will have gone from teeny little idealing to fully functional Web 2.0 service in just under a year; (the concept was born after one last completely irredeemable Match.com date in the summer of 2007). To be honest, I’m not sure where that time frame lies on the trajectory of Web start-ups. Some people say, “Wow, that’s really quick! How’d you do that so fast?”, while others bluntly ask, “So, what have you been doing all this time? So-and-so rolled out his site in 3 weeks.” Hmph.

While it’s felt like a long road, MIXTT has undergone such a wondrous evolution from start to finish that I’m grateful for the time that has elapsed. Seemingly infinite iterations have come about in every single area – technology, design, ideology, site content, domain name, branding, marketing, team, advisory board, business model, purpose, scope, goals and more. Not a day has gone by since last August that we haven’t worked to make some aspect of the business better. This is what it means to live and breathe your start-up, and I could not have imagined it until I was already living in it.

Alpha users, get ready to rumble with us in t minus the weekend! Private beta users, we’ll open it up as soon as we’re sure it’s worthy of your use. You can still add your name to the private beta invite list by registering now at MIXTT, but we’ll be shutting that down soon!